Bumper Love

[Foy_Mirna]

Now that the weather in Florida has gotten a bit cooler, I turned to cleaning our trailer after being on the road the last two weeks.  The oxidized bumper and diamond plate were really bugging me and needed a good cleaning.  I took the bumper off and brought it into the shop where I could secure it to a bench.  Two hours later it's almost a mirror finish. I used Zephyr yellow, blue and white fast cutting/polishing wheels with brown, green and white rouge bars.  It's a really dirty job but a great pay-off. The diamond plate took almost as long as my Dewalt polisher is just too big and I did not want to hit the gelcoat. So hand polishing was the way to go. I used Zephyr Pro-40 metal polish and while it took 4 passes I got most of the oxidization off the diamond plate.

 

A product I would highly recommend is Star Brite Hull Cleaner the Gel Formula. This product sprays on and just wipes off most everything! We park our Oliver under trees to shade it from the Florida sun and the pine needles mixed with daily rains make a nice brown tea that is really tough to get off unpolished fiberglass. I will not let this happen again.

 

Today I am going to use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the hull.  I will report back on how this hold up vs a traditional fiberglass polish.

 

 

[topgun2]

Obviously you went "all in" on the bumper polish - nicer look than even when it was new I'll bet.  A good coat of just about any good wax will now keep it shiny longer, but, it will still dull over time.  Nice job!

 

Bill

 

p.s.  I deleted that second post for you.

[Foy_Mirna]

Thanks Bill,

 

And I know you're right but I am going to stay after it.  That second post was strange, as I did edited my first post to add a pic I forgot.

[KarenLukens]

Wow! That looks great! So far, I've just thought about finishing our bumper and it looks like keeping up with the Roamy's will be tough :) HaHa, I've also been thinking about replacing the bumper bolts with polished carriage bolts for a cleaner looking fit.

 

Reed

[Foy_Mirna]

Heheheee. No keeping up with the Jones here!  I just remembered how shiny it was new and went way overboard. :)

[Mainiac]

Mine was never polished. It seems to have a satin finish. The diamond plate part still looks good. Will keep your polish in mind. Don't think we will ever compete for shine...

[Foy_Mirna]

Hey Canoe,

 

The finish from the factory has be rough sanded and as so you need to take it down using 500 and 600 grit sandpaper.  Hard work but once that is done the polish will bring it up to more of a mirror finish.  Having a 12 amp polisher and the right cutting/polishing wheels, I cheated on this part.)

[Kayrae51]

Clair has spent many hours polishing our bumper, storage box, steps, etc. Our bumper was not polished coming from the factory. It had ragged edges & grinder marks that drove him crazy. I’m sure he will be interested/impressed by the process you have used.......Looks professional and very classy!

[Mainiac]

Love the shiny bumper, but if I ever get the urge I hope somebody takes me aside and talks to me. Afraid the sun, or those new headlights, would blind someone. Maybe I should just go out and put some of that diagonal red and white reflective tape, like the 18 wheelers have, so I don't get the urge. If I see a sunny flash while out on the open road, I'll know you are around...